McGrath delighted after return

Oldham's Phillip McGrath was delighted to come through a reserve match unscathed following his return from injury.

Last Updated: 20/04/11 11:34am

Oldham's Phillip McGrath was delighted to come through a reserve match unscathed following his return from injury.

The teenager from Northern Ireland damaged cruciate knee ligaments early in the season and had not been expected to play again this term.

However, his recovery is nearing completion after he played the final 30 minutes for the Latics' reserves against Wrexham at Stalybridge.

McGrath told the club's official website: "I had been doing a lot of non-contact work with physio Marc Czuczman but only been back in full training for three or four days.

"It was a surprise to be called into the squad for last night's game and I thought I might at best get 10 to 15 minutes.

"I never expected to play half an hour, but happily there was no reaction. I was nervous when I was told to warm up and felt cautious early on when twisting and turning. I had a couple of good runs and grew in confidence as the rustiness disappeared."